Economists polled by Reuters had expected stocks of unsold goods at U.S. wholesalers to rise 0.5 percent after advancing by 0.6 percent in July, which was revised down from a previously reported 0.7 percent gain.

Inventories are a key element in the government’s measure of changes in gross domestic product and can highlight underlying strength or weakness in U.S. growth, which notched a 1.3 percent annual pace in the second quarter.